RWBY: A Leader for Heroes
by K.Reativ
Summary: Team RWBY may be young and hopelessly determined to save the world, but they still have a lot to learn! Told through the perspective of their mentor, this story follows their tale as they fight Grimm and face off with some of the worlds most dangerous villains.
1. Chapter 1

The sun spilled through the small openings between the leaves. The resulting dispersed rays of light lit up the Emerald forest and, for just a moment, I allowed myself to take in the beauty. The sheer amount of fresh air and green foliage was still foreign to me, despite having left the city so long ago. The wildlife, however, was strangely absent.

Although, I thought, it wasn't so surprising considering the Grimm.

Right on cue, a shrill scream cut through the forest. A small flock of brown birds fled from a nearby tree, where they had been safely camouflaged, and climbed upwards into the sky.

"Well, that didn't take long, did it?" I laughed.

I forced myself to carry on, knowing who was waiting for me. A moment later, I pushed through the last of the low hanging branches and into an open area. Sure enough, Ozpin and Glynda stood overlooking a cliff. Neither acknowledged my arrival. I pretended not to notice. Instead, I silently joined them by looking over the cliff as well. All I could see were the tree tops, but I had a good guess of what was happening underneath.

Orientation always came with its hazards.

Moments passed. I looked at Ozpin out of the corner of my eye. As per his routine, Ozpin was staring intently at the monitor in his hands. Every so often, he would adjust his glasses, and then smile or frown depending on what he was seeing. I glanced behind him. There were about a dozen, person sized catapults lined up neatly. I cleared my throat, knowing that I wouldn't win against these two regardless.

"Catapults?" I asked, returning my gaze to the forest. Sounds of gunfire sounded.

"If I recall, you didn't think I wouldn't find a good use for them." Ozpin replied. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"You win, then." I conceded. He grunted in agreement.

"I believe we agreed fifty."

"It's in the mail," I told him. His smile grew a little more. "How far did they go?"

"Not far enough," Glynda interjected seriously. "The teams were developed far too quickly."

"All of them are partnered up already?" I said, genuinely surprised.

"Yes," She said, voice sharp. "Not that launching Beacon's new students into a forest full of Grimm, and partnering each student with the first person they see if exactly a reliable method for determining their combat teams". She glared at me dangerously as if the catapults were my idea.

"Oh, but it's so much fun," I teased. She didn't return my warmth, but she stopped glaring and I knew I was temporarily spared from Glynda Goodwitch's wrath.

However, a knot formed in the pit of my stomach despite myself. I shifted my weight uneasily, considering Glynda's words.

"Come here," Ozpin's voice stopped my train of thought. Assuming he was speaking to me, I walked to his side. The screen on the monitor was divided into six neat squares. Feed from the cameras placed in the forest, I realized.

He was watching a fairly large group of new students on the monitor. Eight, I counted. For a moment, I assumed they were fighting each other. Not uncommon considering how competitive young Hunters and Huntresses can be. But then a gigantic, black wing moved across one of the cameras.

A Nevermore, I realized. They were fighting a Nevermore. A plane-sized, blood thirsty creature. Reflexively, my body tensed.

Ozpin pressed on one of the squares on the monitor. The square expanded to fill the whole screen, zooming in on the feed from the one particular camera. On it, four girls stood side by side. Ozpin zoomed in on the image further, focusing on only one girl in particular.

She looked so _young_. Her hair was chopped to shoulder length, framing you youthful face. Her rebellion showed through in the red that was mixed into her naturally brown hair. Her grey eyes were intently focused on the giant bird, jumping away as a Nevermore swooped dangerously close to her. The most startling thing about her, however, was her giant scythe. She swung the scythe with tremendous skill at the Nevermore. The huge bird was surprisingly agile, although, and she missed. However, the swing caused the bird to change tactics and aimed for a blonde girl that had been standing with young girl. Without missing a beat, the young red head aimed her scythe after the bird, digging the blade into the ground to steady it. The scythe fired a number of heavy rounds at the Nevermore.

 _Holy shit,_ she equipped the Scythe with a _sniper gun_.

Suddenly, something in my brain clicked.

" _This_ is _her_?" I gawked. "The one who screwed up Roman's robbery?"

"She seems quite the Huntress-in-Training, doesn't she?"

" _SHE IS A CHILD_!" I couldn't stop my voice from going higher with each word. "A _child_ , Ozpin."

"Which makes her feat all the more impressive." He said, ignoring my outburst.

"It makes it all the more _stupid_." I countered. "How did she even do it?"

"She is Qrow's niece." His voice was deadpan. Shock made me silent.

"Oh," I said finally, my voice quiet. Ozpin had the maturity and grace not to mock my ignorance. Glynda, however, was smirking to herself.

"Her name is Ruby Rose." He told me. "You will be her body guard, under the guise of her Mentor. You will know where she is day and night. You will keep her alive."

I nodded. "And her team?"

"Integral to her safety. You will be responsible for them as well. With the right training, they might just be the ones to make this world a better place." I paused for a moment as I let the gravity of the situation sat on me.

I watched Ruby Rose on the screen. Ruby was launched by a white haired girl at a cliff, where a number of white symbols appeared along the cliff side. The symbols, I recalled, were the symbol of the Schnee family. Before I could ponder on the implication of the symbols too long, however, Ruby had my attention again. As Ruby flew through her air, her scythe blade grabbed the Nevermore at its neck. Ruby landed on the cliff side, feet firmly placed as she stood at almost a perfect 90 degree angle with the cliff side. Still pulling the Nevermore along with her blade, she ran with lightning speed up the cliff, the white symbols holding her in place. Dust, I realized. The white haired girl had used white dust to create the symbols.

Ruby reached the top of the cliff. The force of gravity, the blade, and Ruby sheer speed proved to be too much for the Nevermore. The head came clean off. Blood splattered and the corpse of the Nevermore fell. Ruby looked pleased as punch.

 _Ruby Rose ¸_ I thought, _Sixteen year old girl, Protector of the World…Leader of Heroes._

This should be interesting.


	2. Chapter 2: A new life

Days later, I found myself in the cafeteria. Stone walls surrounded the occupants of the room, complete with a high ceiling and elaborate chandelier. Sounds of mindless chatter bounced off the walls, amplifying the sound. I forced myself to push back my annoyance. Instead, I settled against a wall and scanned the sea of faces for Team RWBY.

 _RWBY,_ I thought. _Ozpin could have bothered to be a little more subtle about the name._

It took about another minute before I recognized Ruby by her red hood. She was speaking with quick hand gestures, a wide grin on her face, to the blonde haired girl I had seen with Ruby during orientation.

Was she always this… enthusiastic?

I pushed myself off the wall and made my way through the unusually thick crowd of new students. Almost immediately, I caught a movement in the corner of my eye. Instinctively, I stepped backwards just in time as the young, blonde haired boy's momentum sent him tumbling in front of me. He shrieked in a way that seemed familiar.

 _He_ was the kid that had been yelling in the Emerald Forest? Oh, that was _fantastic_.

Years of training allowed my body to respond with minimal effort. My left hand shot out and grabbed the blonde boy by the elbow as he fell. The right snatched his tray of food. Both maneuvers were successful and the boy's decent came to a sudden halt, his face a good foot above the cold floor. There was a momentary struggle as I yanked him into a standing position.

"You alright?" I asked casually.

The blonde boy laughed awkwardly, red flooding into his face. "Oh, yeah, you know. Just didn't watch where I was going… sorry."

This kid was a Beacon student?

Then I noticed his eyes flicker behind him nervously. Something I wasn't meant to notice, no doubt, so I made my own glance all the more subtle. A group of boys – new students, yet again- were laughing hysterically in our direction.

Ah, well. That made sense. The blonde boy emitted a sweet, naiveté that made him stand apart from the crowd. It was different from Ruby's sweetness, from what I could tell. Ruby was a fighter, despite her innocence. This boy was…not.

On the other hand, I truly hated bullies.

"It's alright," I told him. I gave the boy my sweetest smile, emphasized by my blonde hair and deep blue eyes. The poor boy's confusion was palpable. However, I looked at him calmly in the eyes, trying to communicate to him to play along. "How about I walk you to your table? To avoid any further injuries."

I didn't wait for his response. Instead of simply releasing his elbow, I hooked my arm through his while handing him his tray back. The gesture had the intended effect. The laughing from behind us stopped. My smile grew.

"O-okay," He stumbled over the word. Adorable.

After a few moments of silence, I cleared my throat. "So, where is it?"

He stared at me, stunned. "The what?" He asked. I gave him a meaningful look. A second later, there was audible click in his head as he put two and two together. "Oh! Oh, uh, my team is over there." He pointed. Two red headed girls and a boy with a long black pony tail sat across the room. Conveniently, Blonde Boy's team was sitting with team RWBY. I led him over.

The small group of seven, including Ruby, looked up as we approached.

"Jaune, there you are!" One of the red-headed girls exclaimed. Her hair was pulled into a high pony tail, emphasized by a golden hair band. As soon as she saw Jaune, I saw a fire light up in her eyes that I identified immediately.

Ah, young love.

I released Jaune's arm. "Sorry for keeping him. We had a bit of a traffic accident."

The red-head's eyes pinched together in concern. "Cardin again?" She asked.

"It's fine, Pyrrah. We were just joking around." Jaune said, clearly embarrassed. He sat down next to her. Pyrrah's expression softened, although clearly not convinced. She turned to me.

"Well, thanks for getting him here safely." She said.

I nodded, turning my attention to the rest of the group. "No problem."

The blonde girl sitting next to Ruby popped a tomato into her mouth. "You're a new student, too, am I right?"

I vaguely recalled her name. Yang Xiao Long. Ruby's half-sister, if I wasn't mistaken. The thought twisted my stomach into a small knot. Family left an opening for mistakes. Well-intentioned mistakes, perhaps, but mistakes.

I eyed her, still forcing a smile. "Actually, Yang, I'm not." All eight students eyed me. "I'm Team RWBY's mentor."

"Like the candies?" Ruby chimed up.

 _Oh, dear._

"No, Ruby. Mentor. Not Mento's." A black haired girl piped up. She set down the book she was reading to give me her full attention. Her yellow eyes rested on mine. Something about them piqued my curiosity, but I was unable to place why.

Blake Belladonna, I thought. Fast, good hand-to-hand combat. There was little personal history in her file, however.

"Exactly," I agreed finally. "For the next four years of your training, I am responsible for Team RWBY."

"Like a babysitter?" The white haired girl practically sneered. I searched my brain once again. Weiss Schnee, heir to the Schnee fortune. It was an interesting choice, pairing her in Team RWBY. However, I have long learned to not question Ozpin's motives.

"If you want to think of me that way…" I trailed off. "But I'm mostly here to make sure you guys don't blow yourselves up." That was closer to the truth.

"Well, in that case, I'm Ruby!" Ruby introduced herself.

 _No Kidding._

"Yeah, actually, I've heard of you already." I told her. Now it was Ruby who flushed red. "Roman Torchwick, huh?" I raised an eyebrow at her. She crumbled under my stare.

"It wasn't like I planned on it. He started it." She nearly whined.

Now it was my turn to be taken aback. I knew from her file she was only 16. But _my god,_ did she ever sound young.

I cleared my throat. "You could have been killed. Torchwick is no pushover, alright?"

I hadn't meant to sound so motherly. But it achieved the desired result. Ruby nodded her head and I allowed the conversation to drop.

"Good" I smiled again at the group. "I'll see you in class, then!" I said happily, soaking in their confused expressions as I turned away.

As soon as I was turned safely away from the group, I dropped the façade. The idea of Ruby, or any first year Beacon student, taking on Roman was enough to send a shiver down my spine. Unwelcome memories threatened to surface, even as I pushed my way through the cafeteria doors and into the open outdoors. I inhaled a couple of deep breaths of fresh air to calm my nerves.

I had a class to prepare for, after all.

"What is a Hunter or Huntress's greatest asset?" I asked the small cluster of young faces in front of me. "And yes, it is a trick question."

There was an exchange of nervous and confused glances. Near the middle of the group I noticed Jaune slowly raise his hand. Almost reflexively, Prryha grabbed his wrist and gently guided it down again. A couple of others responded by shuffling their feet in the dirt, looking anywhere but me.

"Your weapon," Weiss pipped up confidently. I raised an eyebrow, inviting her to explain her answer. She smirked, unbothered by my attention or the attention of those around her. "Your weapon is something that you create or that's handed down to you. You need it to fight. It's a part of you."

"Good answer," I conceded. Her smirk became more arrogant. "But you're wrong." I finished. Her expression collapsed.

"Wrong?" It was as if she had never heard the word before. A few in the class snickered.

"Mostly wrong, anyway. You see, Weiss, I asked a trick question. It's safe for you to assume I am not looking for the obvious answer." I explained. "Does anyone else want to give it another shot?" I scanned the crowd again.

Crickets could be heard chirping from Emerald Forest. I sighed and began to pace around the group.

"The answer I was looking for was you." More confused looks were traded. "Your experience, your knowledge, body and soul. Your greatest asset is what makes you, well, _you_."

"You mean our aura?" Ruby offered.

"Bingo!" I said as I spun on my heels and pointed at her. "Well, mostly, bingo. The truth is, the answer can be more complicated than that."

"I thought this was Basic Training, not philosophy." Yang stretched her arms above her head, presumably enjoying the warmth that came with having class outside.

"Trust me, young Grass Hopper. It will all make sense in time." I told her. This time, most of the class chuckled. "Yes, this is Basic Training, but I will cover more than that. Whereas Professor Goodwitch will teach you weaponry and more advance battling skills, this class will focus on hand-to-hand combat and mastery over your aura. The idea behind this being that you need to walk before you can run."

"But, we already know hand-to-hand combat." One student that I failed to identify pointed out. Now it was my turn to smirk.

"Do you really?" I asked. There was a general chorus of agreement among the crowd. "Because, I reviewed the footage from your Orientation," I paused for effect. "And you guys sucked."

"But we passed the entry exam to get into Beacon. How can that be true?" The long haired boy from Jaune's team spoke up. Ren, I remembered. I had assumed he was the leader for Team JNPR, only to find out that Jaune had been chosen. I had been surprised at first, but after observing Ren more closely, his reserved nature became a more glaringly obvious hindrance to any potential leadership capabilities.

"Allow me to demonstrate. Ruby?" I called to her firmly, gesturing with my hand. She hesitated for a moment before obliging. She reflexively reached for her scythe. "Leave Crescent Rose there." I told her. There was another hesitation before placing her scythe back on the ground. As she walked over to me, I observed her, mentally listing off her observable strengths and weaknesses while comparing them with my own.

Once she was a couple feet from me, I gave a slight bow as a general courtesy. She returned the bow, although she was clearly uncomfortable with the gesture. Despite attending Signal Academy, she was still uncomfortable with formal fights.

"Um, did you just want me to…" She trailed off. 

"Just come at me with whatever you are most comfortable with." I assured her. It was enough confirmation for her, and she settled into a basic fighting stance.

"Come on, Ruby!" I heard Team RWBY and Team JNPR cheer on gleefully.

Predictably, she attempted to close our gap with a high kick. If I had not been prepared for the sheer speed, rather than force, of the kick that she delivered, it would most likely have landed cleanly into my side. However, I knew what was coming and grabbed her leg with relative ease, rolling with the speed of it. By matching her energy, I was able to position myself well enough to pull Ruby in closer to me, temporarily throwing her off balance. My free arm swung down and collided with her left side.

She started to fall to the ground as my maneuver sent her stumbling past me. I was careful to release her leg rather than to twist or break it. She hit the dirt, as I anticipated, but her speed was her saviour. She rolled as soon as she hit the ground and was up again before I could blink. She turned toward me as I settled into a defensive stance. This time she played to her strengths. She lunged towards me, throwing well-executed punches.

 _My God, her speed is amazing_.

I managed to keep pace with her blows, but only just. I had to keep stepping back to give me the space I needed. Eventually, her inexperience was her downfall and neglected her form for speed. I managed another grab her arm after her fourth or fifth punch. Again, her legs proved vulnerable. My grab restricted her movement long enough to place my foot in front of her, locking her legs. I threw her about three feet from me.

Once again, Ruby was on her feet before I was ready. A good tactic, really, despite its simplicity, keeping your opponent from being able to retaliate or recover.

However, it was time to drive my point home. I inhaled in and breathed out.

The effect was instantaneous. I could _feel_ my aura moving underneath my skin, warming my entire body from my core to the tips of my fingers. Electricity surged through me and I relished in the surge of adrenaline that came with it. The sensation was fantastic. I could _feel_ my power.

I knew how dangerous that power exactly was.

Everyone had this power. Aura was what, essentially, could be considered the soul of an individual. It is a power that manifests itself as a Semblence, an ability that was embodied who the person was. The Aura could also be used as armor, if the user knew how. For most, this was a reflex, externalizing the Aura just slightly so as a thin, invisible force field covers the person's body or can be used to heal minor injuries for that person. This is what made armor essentially obsolete. In times of crisis, small bursts of Aura can be used as a deadly weapon. As a whole, however, an Aura held an amazing deal of power.

My aura worked a little differently. My Semblence didn't manifest itself distinctly from the Aura. Rather, it _was_ my Semblence. Others were limited in their ability to externalize or manifest their Aura, as if they were equipped with a safety switch to keep themselves from overloading. I, on the other hand, had no such limitations.

My hands emitted a soft, white light. Power rushed to my fingertips. With a good deal of effort, I restrained myself. Ruby, intently focused on her own attack, realized too late that something had changed in our fight. She had lunged herself at me, unable to stop herself in time. I jumped to the side. She attempted to counter my movement, seeing what was coming. She jumped off to the side to dodge my grab, but it didn't matter. I released a small portion of my Aura, careful to not aim it directly at her.

My Aura blast hit her, despite her best efforts. She landed hard, skidding across the freshly cut grass.

I straightened out of my defensive pose as she began to rise. For a few moments, nobody said anything. "Are you alright, Ruby?" I asked, breaking the silence.

She pushed herself to her feet, eyes wide. "Woah," was all she managed.

I smiled, relieved that she was alright. "I'm glad you thought that was fun." I turned to the rest of the class. Each of them was now watching me intently. "I will say it again; your greatest asset is you, not your weapon. Your weapon is merely an extension of you. Remember that this applies to your opponent as well as yourself. Each of you has your own experiences, your own weaknesses and, more importantly, your own strengths. Your weapons, or rather what you can do with your weapons, are merely a reflection of that. Remember that, and I know all of you will become great Hunters and Huntresses. Each of you has a power inside of you." I told them.

To emphasize my point, I reached for my Aura once more. This time, my Aura manifested directly in front of me. A light ball of energy floated gracefully. After a few seconds of intense concentration, the energy ball took shape. Suddenly, a bright, white bird stood in its place.

The bird grew and more of its details become apparent. I willed it to fly around the now-gawking crowd of students.

"How are you doing this?" Prryha's voice was almost inaudible.

"That is your power. That is the reason we are here." I answered. After another moment, I willed the bird away. A small wave of exhaustion hit me as I did, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "Class dismissed."


	3. Chapter 3

My apartment was small, barely enough for one person to live in, let alone to have any significant number of people over. Despite this, Yang, Ruby, and Weiss stood in my tiny kitchen with pained expressions. They kept giving each other side glances, not saying anything.

I put down my tea and cleared my throat. "Alright, I'll bite. What's wrong, kiddies? Bullies knock down your lemonade stand, again?" I said lightly. None of them laughed. I raised an eyebrow. "That was a joke, by the way. Not a very good one, but…" I tried again.

"It's Blake," Ruby cut me off. My surprise must have shown, because she didn't need any prompting on my part to continue. "We were walking by the docks, and there was this Faunus boy, and Blake and Weiss got into an argument and it turns out that Blake is a Faunus." Her words blurred together.

"Okay," I said slowly, trying to keep panic from setting in. I calmly placed down my tea as I considered my next words carefully. "All I got from that was something something Blake is a Faunus."

"Blake's run away. She's been missing for two days, and we don't know what to do any more." Yang clarified.

I stood corrected. Panic seemed like the right choice here.

I had assumed that the three of them would eventually learn of Blake's heritage. Her bow could only hide her cat ears for so long. I did not anticipate this particular reaction, however. Even Weiss, being the heiress to the Schnee company, who had become infamous for their squabbles with the White Fang and their controversial labor practices. Even watching her now, she seemed far away. It was as if she wasn't entirely sure of how she should be feeling now either.

But their little discovery was not what concerned me the most.

While Vale was considerably safer than most places in Remnant, it still had its dangers. A young girl wondering the city, potentially on the run, was not a good thing.

"Alright, here's the plan" I told them firmly, attempting my best imitation of Ozpin. "I will call Ozpin and let him know Blake is missing. We will have a small search party look for her."

"Right, we'll take the South end of the city," Yang started.

"Like hell you will." I interrupted her. The three of them stared at me, stunned. "It's best if you stay here. I don't need more of you to go missing. Is that understood?"

"But," Weiss started, suddenly looking incredibly pissed off. I walked away from her, uninterested in getting into a debate with her. I snatched my coat off my kitchen table and walked to the door.

"That is in an order. When I come back, if you three are not exactly where I left you, there will be hell to pay." I placed my hand on the door knob, ready to storm out, but I stopped in my tracks.

 _Stupid guilt,_ I thought, not daring to look back knowing that they would only be staring back at me with hurt, Bambi eyes. I sighed.

"I'll make sure everything is okay. I'll bring Blake back, I promise." I told them, my voice infinitely softer than what it had once been. With that, I shut the door.

As it turned out, it wasn't particularly difficult to find Blake. Keeping a thorough distance from her and the Faunus boy, I watched her silently. I supposed I could have chalked it up to just dumb luck that I had found her at all, but I would be lying to myself.

My stomach had been twisted in a thick knot all evening, one that only seemed to get tighter as the night wore on.

I had relied on my old connections to find her. It was something I never planned on doing again. Not that I was a welcome guest among my old acquaintances. It was enough to put me on edge. Unsurprisingly, from what little I gathered from them, I found Blake in a less reputable part of Vale.

Sure enough, she was with the Faunus boy from the dock. At least, I assumed he was. In my haste, I never got a description of the guy from the other three. But that wasn't what bothered me. It was where we had all ended up that had the hairs on my neck standing up.

I had heard snippets of Blake and her friends' conversation enough to know they were to spy on an extremely large shipment of dust that had arrived in the city earlier today. It was something to do with the White Fang, I had surmised from their conversation. The White Fang, I remembered, were the most likely suspects in the barrage of dust robberies over the past couple months. Blake, for a reason I hadn't been able to make out, was determined to prove that the White Fang was innocent.

So I stayed where I was, hiding behind a large red crate, freezing my tail off from the cold night air – metaphorically, of course. I eyed the monkey tail coming from Blake's Faunus friend.

 _I suppose he actually could lose his tail in this cold_ , I smiled, unable to tame my bitter thoughts.

The two of them were hiding across the ship yard, barely visible from where I was. Neither of them seemed to be aware of my presence. For the time being, I decided, that would be for the best.

Suddenly, the wind became violent. I looked up to see a large airplane landing with mechanical grace in the middle of the ship yard. For a minute, nothing happened. The plane just sat there as it powered down. The lack of company logos or identifiers of any sort raised a red flag, certainly. Then the planes door lowered and about a half of a dozen men in armored suits exited the aircraft.

 _Oh, no._

Each man clearly wore the White Fang symbol, proudly displayed on the front of their uniforms. Their faces were hidden with masks, each, from what I understood, was meant to represent an animal.

 _Blake!_

I tore my eyes from the plane and turned them back to where I had been watching her. She was gone. My eyes darted around wildly, trying to find any sign of her.

 _Please, Blake, please tell me you ran back to Beacon. Tell me you went somewhere safe._

When I found her again, I could feel all the color draining from my face.

Blake had come out of hiding, her blade at Roman Torchwick's throat. I had been so preoccupied with the White Fang, I hadn't even seen him come off the ship. They stood in front of the White Fang members.

My mind reeled, even as I knew that the rest of the world was still moving forward. Roman was _here_. He was here with the White Fang. How was that possible? He hated Faunus more than anyone I have ever met. Yet he was here, and Blake was holding him hostage.

And for a while, her plan was working. The White Fang members had relaxed their grips on their weapons, listening to her. Roman had not dropped his calm demeanor. In fact, he was smiling. I tried to listen to what she was saying to them, too afraid to interfere. Adding another human into the mix could only make things worse. I stayed where I was, my feet frozen to the ground. I had to do something, but my mind was blank.

Then I saw Roman reposition his Melodic Cudgel and my heart dropped into my throat. I couldn't shout off a warning to Blake, who was too concentrated on the White Fang to realize what was happening.

Roman fired his weapon and Blake was thrown off of him, landing almost fifteen feet away from him.

 _Run!_

Roman aimed his weapon at her again. This time, Blake anticipated the shot and was on her feet before he could pull the trigger. He fired multiple rounds at her and she dodged behind another crate. I could see the whites of his teeth from where I stood, Roman's grin was so large.

Just as quickly as the fear had come, it was replaced with an insatiable rage. I grabbed for my circular sword, gripping the handle hand enough that my knuckles turned white. I started towards Roman, pushing back any remaining fear as I did.

It turns out, I didn't have to.

As Roman stalked towards her, a banana peel landed on his head. I watched him as he looked around, understandably confused, before the Faunus boy jumped from where he had been hiding and landed hard on Roman's head.

The Faunus boy rolled into a stand as he recovered from his surprise attack. Roman recovered equally as quickly and spun to face his new attacker.

"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?" I heard Roman mock. As he did, the White Fang members gathered around Roman in support.

Without hesitation, the Faunus boy dropped into a defensive position. I had to admire his determination. He didn't flinch, even as the White Fang launched themselves at him. He simply reached behind him and pulled out his Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang. One by one I watched him knock each member away. One member in particular comically flew over Roman's head.

I settled back into my hiding spot, more curious than worried at this point.

Even from my distance, I could hear Roman's frustrated grunt as he set in on the Faunus. The two collided, Roman blocking each blow with his cane. Suddenly Blake was there, jumping between the two of them and engaging Roman in a now two-on-one fight.

After holding his own and trading a number of blows, Roman was thrown back. For a minute, it looked as if Blake and her friend had won the fight. But I knew Roman too well, and was less than surprised when Roman pulled himself up and aimed for a hanging crate.

His shot was perfect, and I found myself cringing as the crate plummeted toward the ground. Thankfully, Blake and her friend's reflexes were excellent, and both jumped out of the way.

The dust settled and the fight looked as if it was about to start again.

"Hey!" A young voice shouted.

 _You have got to be kidding me._

Ruby stood across the lot, standing on one of the higher crates like I was. She swung her scythe around once and let the blade dig into the ground, preparing to let off a number of rounds presumably.

"Oh, hello Red. Isn't it past your bedtime?" Roman laughed. The sound sent a chill down my spine and I shivered.

For one second, something distracted Ruby. She looked behind her. She was talking to someone. A red-head in green. From Ruby's hand gestures, I assumed she was telling the girl to get back. But it was too late.

 _You never turn your back on an enemy_.

Roman aimed his weapon and fired. It was a direct hit. Ruby was blown back and, from where I was, I couldn't tell if she was injured. I rose from where I was hidden and began jumping from crate to crate.

But then the red-head girl was standing in front of Ruby. Her eyes zeroed in on Roman, her hands clenched into small fists. What happened next made me stop dead in my tracks.

About a half of a dozen swords flew _out_ of her, floating above her head. She jumped from where she stood, landing about twenty feet from the White Fang. For a moment, each of them seemed as dazed as I was, unsure of how to approach her. Then one brave idiot jumped at her from behind, and the swords flew at him, knocking him to the side. Then the process repeated for the other members, her swords seemingly acting on their own volition. In less than a minute, the fight had taken a drastic turn. The White Fang never stood a chance against this girl.

It was enough to make me almost miss the fact that Roman had turned tail and had boarded a nearby ship. The ship rose into the air, hovering for a moment as the pilot changed directions. In that moment, the extra height brought the ship to my level. Roman stood at the gaping mouth of the ship, closing its massive door. As if he sensed my presence, I wasn't quite sure, his head suddenly snapped to look in my direction. Our eyes met.

A rush of emotions slammed into me all at once. Primarily, there was pain. It wasn't something that I expected, seeing him again. Memories flashed through my mind all at once, and it hurt. God, did it hurt. The sensation was enough to leave me light headed. Anger came from that pain. Frustrated that he could still get me to feel _anything_ at all. But in the end, I felt joy. Pure joy from seeing my girls kick his butt and send him running.

I mockingly gave him a two-finger salute, forcing a cocky smile across my face.

It was one of the very few times I had even seen Roman Torchwick lose his composure. His typically arrogant facial expression crumbled to one of shock, confusion, and anger. The door of the plane closed on us, and the aircraft sped off into the evening light.

It was all I could do not to scream.

….

I couldn't face Blake and Ruby immediately after seeing Roman again. My stomach had twisted itself into a painful knot that only made me feel sick. Instead, I held back, allowing my own thoughts to consume me.

I wasn't entirely sure why I had been so scared. Obviously, it was my job to be worried about them. If they died on my watch, I wasn't positive Ozpin would have any qualms with throwing me right back where he had found me. But general worry didn't account for the intensity of what I felt.

 _They could have been killed. All I could do was sit there, frozen in fear, as_ my girls _were in danger._

Since when did I start thinking of them as my girls? I wasn't their mother.

I followed them silently until we reached the town square. Despite all of the people, Yang and Weiss had no problems spotting Ruby and Blake from across the crowd.

Watching from around the corner, I eyed Weiss cautiously. Weiss approached Blake with quick determined steps, ignoring the Faunus boy who stood behind her. Blake tensed, but her lips moved rapidly as she began explaining to Weiss what had happened. I was too far away to hear what was being said, but apparently it didn't matter. Weiss grabbed Blake and pulled her into a strong hug. Despite everything, all of the emotions that were overwhelming my body to the point of exhaustion, I smiled a genuine smile.

 _Good girl, Weiss_.

When they pulled apart from each other, Weiss proceeded to lecture Blake. Blake stood there and let her. Yang, in the meantime, mothered Ruby as she enthusiastically told Yang about the grand fight that had just occurred. For now, Team RWBY was okay.

 _Good for all of them_.

I pushed myself away from my hiding place, approaching the group from behind. None of them seemed to notice my presence.

"She told us to stay in her apartment…How mad do you think she'll be?" Yang was asking the group.

I loved when things worked out nicely.

I leaned in behind Yang. The rest of the group widened their eyes to a comical degree. "Mad enough to ground you four." I said. Yang jumped away from me.

Yang laughed guiltily. "What are you doing here?" She asked me. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Doing my job. Making sure you girls don't get yourselves killed." I practically growled. "Apparently, I'm not very good at it."

"Well, you should work on that then." The Faunus boy said nervously, trying to lighten the mood. When I glared at him, he started to back away. "Alright, Blake, I'll see you around." He turned to leave.

"Hold it," I demanded. He reluctantly stopped and turned to face me again. "Who are you?"

"Sun. Sun Wu Kong." He smiled awkwardly, offering his hand. I took it.

I grabbed the soft portion between his thumb and index finger, pinching it so as to get at the nerve. He fell to one knee in pain. "You're grounded, too." I grumbled, holding his hand for a second longer before finally releasing it.

I turned back to my attention to the girls. "What did I say about pissing Roman off?" I hissed, imitating Glynda to the best of my ability. Apparently I didn't do a half bad job because the four of them looked guilty as all hell.

"He-" Ruby started.

I cut her off. "Don't you dare say 'he started it'." I snapped at her. "How many times do I have to tell you? Roman is _dangerous_. He could have _killed_ you. He would have if you weren't as lucky as you were but if you keep getting in his way he will." Now I was the one lecturing.

The fear that had been temporarily overshadowed by the happy reunion was slowly returning.

"But someone has too." Ruby insisted.

"Something is happening. Roman is planning something big and we can't just stand by and do nothing." Blake added.

"I never said we won't do anything." I assured them.

"But you just said you don't want us…" Weiss started.

"Not _we_ as in the five of us. _We_ as in me. Trained Hunters and Huntresses. The keyword being _trained,_ as in past tense, as in someone who is not in the middle of completing their training. I will sit down with Ozpin and we will deal with it. _You_ guys are grounded." I said.

None of them looked happy about me putting my foot down. Hell, I wasn't happy with it. But the idea of Roman laying a hand on any of them terrified me to the very core and the fear was making me angry. I didn't want to take that fear and anger out on them, but the nights events made me feel raw, making it very difficult to control my emotions.

"Do not scare me like this again." I told them. There were four sad, little nods. "Alright, then. Let's go home."


	4. Chapter 4

The sick feeling never went away like I thought it would. I stretched out on my bed, unable to sleep. For a while, I tried to listen to the gentle ticking of my clock hoping it would lull me to sleep with its steady rhythm to no avail. Eventually, I didn't even care about sleeping anymore.

I just wanted to throw the damned clock out the window if only to put an end to its stupid tick-tick-ticking.

Instead, I jumped out of bed. Immensely frustrated, I stalked out into the hallway and into the bathroom. A few minutes in a warm bath would hopefully relax my nerves enough to get some rest. I stumbled to turn on the lights, threw open the shower curtain, and let the water run warm. I began to undress.

Something alerted my senses and I froze. I expanded my aura outward, knowing I would be able to detect any nearby auras. It was part of what made me special, and one of the few perks of my ability that wasn't horribly lethal. Sure enough, I could sense a spark of someone else's aura. It was subtle, which meant they were trying to conceal themselves. Anyone from Beacon either didn't know I would be able to sense them, or shouldn't care. Normally, if I hadn't already been on edge, I wouldn't have noticed such a small warning at all. But I had been risking my life, in one way or another, since my early childhood and the fear had left me paranoid.

I redressed and locked the door. I left the water running, deciding that if this person would use the loud sound to drown out their movements, so would I. I silently moved to my bathroom window and pried it open. The night air slapped me in the face and woke up my senses. A small victory, I supposed. I climbed out as quickly as I could, ignoring the five stories of empty space between me and the ground, and jumped to my back porch. My back door's lock had been broken, expertly damaged to the point of needing replacing. However, I never heard anyone breaking the lock.

The implications sent a frigid cold shock down my spine. I peeked into my own apartment.

Roman never even bothered to hide. He was sitting in my living room, looking around with place with curious detachment. He had removed his white coat and placed it down carelessly on my sofa. It was statement, really. He was making himself comfortable, claiming territory.

He was currently on my computer. For long and doing what, I wasn't sure. But I must have waited too long to sense his presence because he was suddenly standing again, done with whatever he had been doing on my computer.

He walked over to the bathroom, where the water could still be heard running. He jiggled the handle a couple of times. For a split second, a look of subtle confusion crossed his face and left as he worked out why the bathroom door was locked when I was supposed to be the only one home.

By then, however, I had already entered my own home and snuck up behind him. He spun around, swinging his cane in a defensive maneuver. I blocked it, sweeping it aside and jabbing at him with the palm of my hand. It landed, but not in the way I had hoped. He applied a similar blocking maneuver as I had done, but only succeeded in throwing off my aim. It was a glancing blow off of his arm, doing minimal damage. Still, it had applied enough force to push him back into the door.

I attempted a proper punch this time, aiming for his throat. But he grabbed my wrist. I tried to correct myself, but his grip was too strong. He spun me away from him, and brought down his Melodic Cudgel down on my back.

I was left with no option but to roll with the hit. The pain burned and spread across my back and shoulder like wildfire. However, I somersaulted with the hit. It was enough to keep him from breaking anything, but there would be a nasty bruise there tomorrow. The roll also put some precious distance between us. With his hold broken, I was able to turn to face him again. I was just quick enough to see his next swing coming and I concentrated some of my aura into my hands. Both of them were surrounded by a subtle glow. With one of those hands, I blocked his swing, concentrating the power into a small shield. With the other, I thrusted out at him, powering my hit with my aura.

He flew back, hitting a wall hard. The hit had stunned him for mere seconds, but I used that time to rush to the adjacent wall and to my dart board. Rather than being filled with darts, however, it had three large daggers sticking out of it. I yanked all three out of the board, spun my heels, and aimed for Roman's head.

With ease, Roman deflected two of the knives. The third and final one, although, I threw just a split second slower, hoping to throw off his timing. He moved to deflect that one as well, but missed. It dug three inches into the wall above his head.

He bared his teeth at me in a twisted parody of a smile, and my stomach churned. He knew he had the advantage in this fight. I was weaponless and in an enclosed space. If I wanted to unleash the full power of my aura on him, I would not only face severe backlash myself, but could significantly damage the building, potentially even bringing down a chunk of it and injuring dozens.

His cane was also a problem, allowing him 360 degrees of maneuverability with his weapon. His upper body defenses were too strong to efficiently attack with his cane and speed. His lower body was a better shot, but left me more vulnerable to strikes from his cane. This was the same advantage that came from swords and other long weapons, and was a weakness of bulkier weapons like Ruby's scythe. It was why I had picked my circular sword in the first place. But it was secured in my bedroom, having seen no reason to bring it to the bathroom with me.

Only a second passed as I assessed my situation, but it was enough for him to recover and take the initiative. He came at me swinging again, and I was forced back. Side-stepping his attacks, I kept blocking his cane with small shields of my aura, doing my best to conserve my aura at the same time.

The more I used my aura, the more tired I became. My head started to hurt from the strain, but I didn't allow myself to misstep. I desperately searched for an opening.

Of course, none of my efforts mattered. Roman was not slowing down, and he was too smart to leave any obvious opening. Any small opening I did manage to find, he either blocked or my hit didn't slow him down enough. The hit would simply send him a couple feet back, he would recover, and the cycle would begin again.

Inevitably, I hit a wall. Literally and figuratively. My heel caught on my rug, I tripped, and my body slammed itself up against a wall. Before I had time to recover, Roman was on top of me. His hand wrapped itself around my neck and pinned me in place.

"It looks like I'm a better teacher than I thought." He told me.

I squirmed underneath him. "You are an absolute prick," I spat at him. He lifted my head slightly and slammed it back into the wall. His smile grew.

"And _you_ are going to give me some answers." His grip tightened and it became harder to breathe.

"Why don't I take that stupid hat of your and shove it up your-"

He slammed my head again. "Come on, now you know that's not what I wanted to hear."

"What makes you think I'm going to tell you anything?" I hissed, trying to take deep breaths to keep myself from passing out.

"Because I'm asking nicely." He answered. His thumb briefly traced up and down my neck. It wasn't a seductive gesture. It was a not-so-subtle reminder that he could, and likely would, break my neck. "Because you're dead if you don't"

"I'm dead if I do," I pointed out. He pretended to consider that for a moment then shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah you are." He conceded. I struggled against his grip more forcefully, my lungs beginning to softly burn from the lack of oxygen. He pressed his weight against me in response. He leaned in closer. "But if you don't tell me what I want to know, then Team RWBY is dead."

For a moment, I was dumbstruck. Beacon teams were often putting themselves in danger or making enemies. It was why we kept team information strictly confidential.

"How…?" I began, but stopped myself.

My computer.

"I got to say, I never thought you would be someone's personal kiss-ass. By the looks of your apartment, he can't be paying you well, either." Roman mused. "And it's not as if you could stop me from killing your girls."

He barely finished his last word before I took my free hand, clenched it into a fist, and punched him right in the jaw.

It didn't hit hard, but it hit hard enough. Roman's grip loosened on my neck and I used my leverage to head butt him squarely on the nose. Blood streamed freely from both nostrils and he took a few steps back. Completely free from his grasp, I used the wall one more time to support myself as I kicked him in the gut. Roman was knocked back again, completely stunned. I unleashed my aura at him, not letting up my attack.

He sailed across the apartment, crashing through my back door. The backlash from my aura knocked me against the wall, leaving me breathless. My head cracked hard against the wall, and pain shot through my entire body. A deafening ring filled my ears and for a delirious moment I thought someone had pulled an alarm. It took a couple of moments for the shock to wear off, and I feared that I had left myself vulnerable for too long. But Roman was still picking himself up the floor even as I came to.

I pursued him, rage emitting off of me in hot waves.

"You, of all people, should know not to threaten the people I care about." I told him, my voice dropping into a low threat.

Again, in the back of my head, I couldn't for the life of me recall when I started to care for them. All I could picture is Team RWBY and Team JNPR and the dozen of great moments we have shared.

All I knew, dammit, was that I _cared_ for them, and Roman wanted to kill them.

By the time I reached him, he had mostly recovered. He leaned against my railing for support, readying his cane for a fight. But my aura had hit him hard, and he wasn't able to bring himself into a full stand. Still, his cocky smile never faltered.

"Oh, look who's the big, bad, mad body guard, huh?" He chuckled and swung his cane. Again, I blocked his cane with my arm, willing my aura into a small shield. This happened twice more. He would swing from a different angle, and I would block.

Then he surprised me by throwing his whole weight into a low-sweeping kick. I managed to dodge the kick, but I was becoming exhausted and lost my footing. I managed to recover my stance before falling over, but the mistake had put a small amount of distance between us again. He was able to get better leverage and went for another hard swing.

Willing my aura to my hand, I grabbed his cane mid-strike. The aura absorbed most of the blow, but the hit still reverberated through me. Pain shot down my arm, but it was well worth the risk. The maneuver had caught him off guard.

Not releasing the cane, I kicked him hard in the gut, pressing him against the railing. His grip on the cane reflexively loosened and I yanked it free from him. I used the hook end of the cane to grab his leg and yank it out from under him. He fell hard, smacking his head on the railing behind him. Vulnerable, there wasn't much he could do to defend himself from my strike. I raised the cane high, bringing it down on him,

I stopped mid-strike, the cane frozen in place an inch above his head. I looked him dead in the eye. "I am not like you." I said. I tossed his cane over the railing.

His smile grew even larger. "Oh, I highly doubt that, sweetheart. You're more like me than you realize. Or do you think that everyone has forgotten what you did just because Ozpin pulled a few strings and got you out of prison?" He looked at me up and down, straightening himself into a seated positon. "No, I think you're more like me than you would care to admit." He added, appearing thoughtful.

I heard knocking at my door. Unsurprising, considering the noise that we must have caused. Still, I never turned away from Roman. You never turn your back on an enemy.

Roman had taught me that.

"You are delusional." I spat back at him, grinding my teeth. "You're right about one thing, though. You were a good teacher." He raised an eyebrow at me. "It's just that Ozpin was better."

His smile crumbled at my words, his eyes turning into daggers. "Do you really think he isn't using you like everyone else?" He asked. "How stupid are you?"

I couldn't bring myself to respond to his question. I didn't really think he expected me to. Instead, I asked, "Why the hell are you here?"

His smile returned. "I already got what I needed." He held up a USB drive. I grabbed at it but he drew his hand away too quickly.

"What did you _do_?" I growled.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about that." He assured me, standing up. "You just worry about yourself." He jumped up onto the railing, balancing with ease. The knocking on the door became more violent. "Oh, and it would be in your best interest to keep your girls on a leash because, if any of them get in my way again, I'll kill them." He threatened.

"Lay one hand on them and, trust me; they will be the least of your worries." I shot back.

He jumped over the railing, grabbing onto a nearby tree. Branch by branch, I watched him lower himself to the ground and disappear into the night.

The knocking grew louder, rattling the door.

"What's been going on in there? Open this door, right now!" It was Glynda. Her voice was high with anger and annoyance. I slowly made my way back toward my front door.

As it turned out, it didn't matter. I was about half way to my door, when I heard the lock snap and the door flew open. Glynda, Doctor Oobleck, Professor Peach and Professor Port all rushed in, weapons drawn.

"What is exactly the point of having a lock if everyone insists on breaking them?" I demanded, crossing my arms defiantly at them. The three of them were too distracted by my apartment to notice. Chairs and tables had been smashed to pieces, scattered all over the room. The knife that I had thrown at Roman was still lodged deep into the wall. At some point in the fight, one of us must have broken a lamp as glass lay strewn across the floor as well. Simply put, a cyclone might as well have gone through this room for all the damage that was done.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Glynda asked.

"I'm fine. I just had an… unexpected visitor." I said slowly, unsure of how much information I should share with them.

Glynda, however, was no moron. Ozpin would have just finished his interview with Blake and Ruby a few hours ago. "Torchwick was here?"

I smiled bitterly. "Are any of us really that surprised?"

"How did he get past our security?" It sounded as is Professor Peach had asked the room, but her cold eyes stayed on me. I met her gaze, unflinching and unapologetic.

"I don't know Professor Peach. Perhaps we should ask _security_ instead of wasting our time here." I said.

"Considering that you _advise_ security, I don't think my question is completely out of line." She countered.

She wasn't entirely wrong. Because of my 'background', Ozpin couldn't legally make me head of security. However, nothing legally stopped me from _advising_ security. It was slightly ironic, since what prevented me from being security is what made my advice so valuable.

Oobleck and Port both tossed me sympathetic glances. Out of all the teachers here, the two of them had always been the least suspicious of me, and I liked them in return.

"We all know that Roman Torchwick is unpredictable." Glynda said, her voice sharp. With that, Glynda temporarily ended the fight between Professor Peach and myself. Peach opened her mouth, probably wanting to point out that I knew better than anyone. One look at Glynda, although, and she thought better of it. "The rest of you go home. Apparently, the crisis is over."

With that, Professor Peach, Oobleck, and Port all turned to leave and I turned my attention to my computer.

I shook the mouse to bring the computer out of sleep mode and immediately tried to do a comprehensive search on my data history to figure out what Roman had managed to retrieve. The fact that he had gotten anything at all was impressive, but not surprising. He wasn't a moron, either, and given the right tools and significant time, there was little Roman couldn't break or hack in to.

I barely got started, however, before the screen began to flash 'Warning! Warning!' at me. "Oh, no. No no no no no." I muttered.

Sparks were suddenly flying out of my computer. The screen alternated between blue, red, and green. Finally, there was a hiss, a pop, and then nothing. I was almost a little disappointed that a skull and cross bones didn't appear before it officially died its painful death.

Angrily, I struck the computer with a closed fist. It hit the wall and the screen broke. "What do people have against me owning stuff?" I yelled, slamming the laptop closed and knocking it to the floor. "Piece of crap!"

"Who are you referring to? Your computer or Roman?" Glynda asked from behind me.

I forced a laugh. "Roman wishes he was worthy to be a piece of crap." I tried to swallow away the lump that had formed in my throat. "He took something off my computer, and now I don't know if or when I'll be able to figure out what." I explained. To my horror, my voice was shaking.

For a long moment, Glynda didn't say anything. "We will give you the resources to fix your computer in order to discover what he took, and give you a new one in the meantime for business use." She told me.

"He knew who Team RWBY were." I replied, not able to look at her. "He _knows_ their names. He can find them."

She placed a hand on my shoulder. "Then we will double security, change our passwords, and do whatever else you recommend to increase security." She said. After another beat, she added, "Roman won't be able to get on this campus again. He won't get to Team RWBY."

Because of our differences, I forgot how _kind_ Glynda truly was. She prided herself on her compassion and her judge a person's morality. As often as I knew Professor Peach would accuse me, either directly or indirectly, of being an untrustworthy criminal, Glynda's faith in me never wavered. She didn't see me as the person I used to be, but the person I was.

Or at least, who I tried to be.

Without another word, Glynda left.


	5. Chapter 5

After Blake, Ruby, and Sun's little adventure, I had made a more significant effort to keep an eye on them. Now that they had snuck past me once, I knew what to look for when they were about to put themselves in harms way. They had a lot of tells.

Ruby would not look at me for long. Blake would become more quiet, if that was possible. Weiss became more proactive in class, again, if that were actually possible. Yang developed more sass. If all four were doing their 'tells', something big was going on in their little heads.

Something big was going on.

Accordingly, I was forced to turn to my 'sources'. My current source, however, was not as helpful as I hoped he would be. It was all he could do to stay conscious. The only indication that he was still responsive was the slight twitch of his wolf ears. His brown hair was an unruly mess, his clothes ripped from poor care.

A generous amount of blood was tricking down his face and staining his shirt. "Alright, Thomas, I already know the White Fang are gathering tonight. I know Roman will be there. But it's kind of important that I know where they are meeting." I kicked him hard in the gut. It was a solid blow and he reflexively curled into a ball. A low moan escaped his lips. "Where are they meeting, Thomas?" I asked.

His brown eyes slowly moved up to mine. "Fuck off, bitch." He muttered.

I used my foot to roll him onto his back, pressing my foot into the soft spot between his ribs. "I'm losing my patience, Thomas." I growled. "Tell me where this bloody meeting is at, or I break every one of your ribs." I put more weight onto his chest.

"You think I'd help you?" He sneered back at me. "You've got a cushy job, kissing Ozpin's ass. Get him to tell you." He laughed. "Besides, you're the law now. This classifies as abuse. All I have to do is go to the coppers and your sweet ass is in jail. Something tells me you won't last that long."

Technically, he was right on both counts. I didn't have the authority to hurt anyone and I had more than enough enemies behind bars. But anger made me rash, and before I could really think it all the way through, I had lifted my foot and stomped hard on his ribs. There was a neat snap of bone, and a painful scream that echoed through the streets.

"Oops," I said as soon as the screaming died down. He gritted his teeth in agony. "Let me make this clear. I may have given up being Roman's personal lackey. I might even be Ozpin's kiss ass. But I am still me, and I could have killed you back then, just like I can kill you now. Damn the consequences." I hissed. He visibly gulped.

"Working with Roman really screwed you up, didn't it?" He said. I didn't say anything. He started to laugh hysterically. "He did. He got into your head. Not that you were a delicate flower before you met him."

I wanted to scream at him. Kick him. _Hurt_ him. I'm not like Roman. I never was.

But then I thought back to what Roman had said, to how Professor Peach always looked at me. Then I looked down at Thomas, bloodied and beaten. Somehow, I couldn't find the words anymore. I was just too tired.

Instead, I lowered myself into a crouched position. I looked Thomas in the eyes. "Thomas, innocent people will get hurt if I don't find this meeting. Good people. Girls, really. Girls who are so annoyingly innocent and determined to do good, they don't have a clue how bad this world really is. All they ever wanted to do, is make a difference. They have never hurt anyone." I said, my voice softening with each word. "One of them is even a Faunus, and right now she might be really hurt. Please, Thomas, I'm asking nicely. Where is this meeting?"

For a long minute, Thomas said nothing. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he started to process what I had said.

I knew Thomas wasn't a bad guy. Highly driven by self-interest, perhaps, but not bad compared to some of the others I had met. Once upon a time, he and I could have almost been considered friends. Not that that would have accounted for much. But Thomas disliked spilling innocent blood as much as I did.

He also hated being betrayed as much as Roman did.

My heart sunk as I watched his eyes steel over. "Nobody is innocent, pumpkin." He said finally.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, past experience forbidding me from showing weakness in front of an enemy.

"Fine," I said. "I'll find the damn meeting myself." I picked myself up and turned to leave.

I hadn't gotten more than a few steps before I heard Thomas moving. "A Faunus girl, huh?" He called out to me. I turned back to him and shrugged.

"She's doing good, Thomas. I think she wants to prove that the White Fang isn't a Faunus's only chance for change." I told him. He stood, his balance shaky. His one arm was wrapped around his ribs.

He touched the back of his head, pulled it away and looked at his hand. Crimson covered it. "You've always had a nasty punch." He mused. After another moment, he said, "The warehouse, a few blocks outside the town square. You didn't hear it from me."

"Obviously,"

"You tell that Faunus girl she better not let us down." Then he looked at me, baring his teeth. "Don't come back here again for help, you hear?"

I smiled at him. "Come on, Thomas, we both know you would miss me."

"You're more trouble than your worth, you know that?" He snapped, but his sneer noticeably softened.

"That wasn't a no." I sang before turning around again and jumping off of the one story building.

I hadn't even made it to the meeting. I was still about a good five minutes away when Blake and Sun sped past me. Not even a heartbeat later, a metallic beast of a robot thundered its way after them.

 _The Atlesian Paladin-290_. _Ah, shit_.

I took off after them, hanging back in order to piece together what was exactly happening. Blake and Sun were managing to keep a pace or two ahead of the monster, but the chase had found its way onto the main highway. In an effort to keep up with Blake and Sun, the Paladin knocked car after car out of its path.

"I'm going to wind up on tomorrow's news, aren't I?" I said out loud in disbelief. I managed to keep pace with them, but the cars that the Paladin flung still had people in them. It was a fact that didn't bother the driver of the Paladin, clearly.

One car had flipped three times, sliding to a stop not five feet from me. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the two kids in the back seat, trapped by the warped metal. I skidded to a stop myself, briefly watching the Paladin, Blake, and Sun getting farther and farther away.

"Dammit," I muttered, and turned on my heels in time to see Yang and Neptune zoom past me, seeming not to notice me either. I returned to the car.

The parents in the front and passenger seats were both unconscious. The kids were crying, the eldest shaking the shoulders of her father in a poor effort to wake him. I jumped onto the trunk of the car. The kids had finally noticed my presence. "Get down, cover your heads." I yelled. They did as they were told, the eldest covering the youngest ones head with her own body.

I reached for my Circular Sword and brought it down on the back window. The glass didn't shatter, precisely. Car glass wasn't designed to. But the hole that I had made was large enough to weaken the integrity of the rest of the glass. I kicked at the glass a few times to make the hole larger. As soon as it was, I put down my weapon and pulled out the kids as carefully as I could.

"It's okay, kids," I told them.

Off in the distance, sirens sounded. I stayed for a few seconds longer, waiting to make sure someone was coming to help the wounded. Sure enough, a half of a dozen ambulances rounded the corner. The two kids grabbed onto my waist.

"Stay where you are. These nice people will help you." I told them, peeling myself free.

I took off again, not allowing myself to look back in fear that I wouldn't be able to pursue Team RWBY.

It wasn't hard to find them again. The Paladin had left a trail of crushed cars behind. Eventually, I spotted a hole in the laser railings, which were normally strong enough to keep a large truck from careening off the edge of the bridge.

I didn't think they would have been able to stop a Paladin, though.

Sure enough, Team RWBY was engaged in full combat with the Paladin. Fog covered the area directly below the bridge, the Paladin relying on laser beam detection for eyesight. It was a tactic that I had been working on with Weiss and Yang.

"Checkmate!" I heard Ruby shout from below. Weiss and Blake powered forward on the robot. Weiss, using her glyphs, attacked the leg of the Paladin. Her sword was thin enough to stab into the machine, digging into the electrical wiring beneath the armor. The Paladin swung its gigantic arm at her and she backed off.

In response, the Paladin activated its missiles and took aim directly at her. They fired and my heart leapt into my throat, but Blake took her place, standing in front of Weiss defensively. Using her Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe, she neatly sliced them in half.

"Ladybug!" Ruby shouted, and took forward with Blake. The two of them attacked the legs in perfect synchronization. The Paladin was too big however, and the attack only damaged the legs and one arm by a small margin.

Yang then took the lead, jumping onto the head of the Paladin and punching repeatedly.

 _No, you've got to keep moving!_

But she was second too slow retreating, and the Paladin surged forward. The two of them collided into a pillar. The maneuver had little effect on the Paladin, but Yang dropped like a stone. She hit the ground hard, rolling a number of times before coming to a dead stop.

She didn't move.

The Paladin lifted one leg and began to lower it.

"Yang!" Ruby called, and tried to rush forward.

Before she could take much more than a couple steps, I jumped from the bridge. I reached for my aura and let flow through me.

Very few times had I let myself use my aura at its full power, for a number of reasons. Primarily, the rush of power was _addictive._ The power that surged through my veins felt like pure, unfiltered adrenaline, combined with a distinct sense of invulnerability. There was nothing I couldn't do.

Like any other drug, however, I knew it could also kill me.

I giggled despite myself, enjoying the sensation a bit too much. I instinctively grabbed for my Circular Sword. I landed perfectly on the head of the Paladin, right on top of the small, bullet proof glass that allowed the driver to see. I used the force of my jump to send my weapon into the glass, creating a hole similar to what I had done to the car.

Roman, I realized for the first time, was sitting in the driver's seat. Small shards of glass broke off and flew at his face. My weapon itself was sticking about four or five inches from his face. He held his arms up defensively. The Paladin, standing on only on one foot, was terribly top heavy. It stumbled back a number of steps to regain its balance.

I looked Roman in the eyes, and bared my teeth at him. He growled back at me.

He didn't have time to react before I released my aura once more. I was almost reluctant to give it up, not wanting to lose how my aura made me feel, but I forced it out of myself. A barely visible, blue wave of pure energy hit the Paladin like a miniature typhoon.

Two things happened then. First, the Paladin, which must have weighed about as much as five military tanks, sailed backwards as if it weighed no more than a small rock. It hit another pillar, turning the massive stone into rubble. Secondly, the backlash was immense. My aura reverberated through me painfully, and I was sent flying about five times further than the Paladin had gone.

I landed hard on the ground, skidding across the pavement faster than some people could run. I used my aura to protect myself as best as I could, preventing any bones from breaking or my neck from snapping. Eventually, I stopped rolling and came to a stop.

I sensed more than saw Team RWBY rush to my aid.

"Get up! Get up!" Ruby was shouting.

At least, I thought it was Ruby, but the ringing in my ears hadn't died down yet.

My vision finally refocused, and I realized that Team RWBY was staring down at me. I cleared my throat. "I'll admit, I may not have thought that all the way through."

"What was that?" Yang asked, her voice high. It occurred to me that Yang, from what I had seen moments ago, should have been unconscious. But looking at her now, she didn't seem to have much of a scratch. Her eyes, although, were glowing red.

"You're okay, Yang?" I asked, pulling myself to my feet.

Her eyes widened. "Are you?"

I shook my head, trying to clear my head. "Guys, the fight! Focus on the fight!" I told them, remembering what we should be focused on. At my cue, the four of them turned back to the Paladin.

The Paladin had recovered, but its movements were less coordinated than before. My Aura had cut through it horribly, not simply hitting its armor on the outside but attacking the mechanics on the inside. Something as natural as Aura, the basis of all living things with a soul, did not agree with advanced mechanics. Sparks were flying from almost every part of it.

That wasn't enough to stop it.

Our brief conversation had cost us precious seconds. By the time we had returned out attention to Roman, he and the Paladin were a few feet away from us. Its robot hand balled into a parody of a fist, throwing all its weight into a solid punch.

Yang stood in front of all of us, holding up her own hands in order to intercept it. Rather than being thrown back by the force of it, Yang stood perfectly still as the fist buckled.

I had read in her files that her Semblence allowed her to absorb energy of hits and use it to power her own attack, but that didn't stop me from taking a second to gawk at her. She pulled back her own fist and punched the robot. The entire arm shattered.

Roman retaliated, and the Paladin reared its monstrous foot and kicked her. She flew through the air and away from us.

"Bumblebee!" Ruby called, and Blake threw one scythe at Yang. She caught it easily, and used Blake's weapon to anchor herself. She used the momentum of the kick to start spinning around the Paladin rapidly. The ribbon that tied Blake's two scythe's together wrapped around the legs of the Paladin.

"Slow it down, Ruby!" I instructed.

"Ice Flower!" She called without hesitation. Weiss jumped in front of Ruby as she dug her scythe into the ground to steady it. A glyph formed in front of the scythe, and Ruby pulled the trigger. As the bullets fired, they went through the Glyph and were covered in Ice Dust.

The shot landed perfectly, hitting and freezing the joints of the already damaged joints of the Paladin.

"Now, Yang!" I shouted. I didn't have to look to see if Yang had heard, or if she was ready. I simply charged the Paladin from one direction, and Yang charged it from another. We hit the Paladin at approximately the same time, generating a staggering amount of force from both of our Semblence's.

The Paladin hit the ground, hard. This time, the entire machine seemed to simply give up and its parts dissembled entirely. Roman rolled harmlessly as the machine collapsed.

He picked himself up as if he had simply stumbled down a couple of steps. "Just got this thing cleaned." He muttered to himself, brushing off his white coat.

"It's over, Roman." I told him. He flashed a quick smile at me, glancing over at Team RWBY.

"And here I thought we had agreed not to fight in front of the kids. Now what will they think?" His voice was teasing, but I knew Roman well enough to hear the implied threat. The bastard was going to tell the girls about my past.

I felt sick.

With little choice, I started towards him with every intention to keep him from talking. Maybe if Team RWBY hadn't made themselves a target of Roman, maybe if they were a couple years older, they might have understood. After all, Blake had been in the White Fang. She had come out of it just fine.

Mind you, she didn't have a rap sheet as long as her arm. She hadn't been thrown in jail for murder.

"Keep talking, and you won't have any teeth to smile with." My voice dropped into a low threat.

"What's the matter, Sweetheart?" He asked, feigning innocence. His smile grew larger, showing off his teeth like the Cheshire Cat. "Don't tell me they don't know about _us_? Now that really hurts."

Fortunately for him, I never got to him.

A fireball raced by my head, aimed perfectly at Roman. He raised his arms reflexively, bracing himself for the hit.

A pink and brown blur leapt out in front of him. The figure opened up some sort of shield, and the fireball spat out in all directions, away from Roman and his savior. Slowly, the figure lowered the shield, a specially made parasol, I realized. The girl behind it couldn't have been taller than five feet, not even reaching Roman's shoulders. One eye was brown, the other pink. She smiled at me.

A cold wave rocketed down my spine and it was all that I could do not to visibly shiver.

"Ladies, Ice Queen," Roman saluted to us, similar to what I had done after his fight with Blake.

"Hey!" I heard Weiss protest.

"Always a pleasure," He tilted his hat at us. "Neo, if you would," and gestured to her.

Yang raced past me and towards the girl. She opened her parasol again, bracing for impact. Yang delivered a solid hit to the parasol, presumably with the intention of breaking it or knocking it away.

 _Something_ broke, absolutely. Roman and Neo shattered into a million pieces as if they were made of glass.

I looked around, confusion hitting me like a brick.

A second later, Roman's airship flew above our heads, and they were gone. I spun on my heels and turned to Team RWBY.

"I guess Roman Torchwick has a new henchmen." Yang said, frustration coloring her voice.

"Yeah, you can say that she really made our plans… fall apart?" A snort came from Weiss.

Nobody else laughed. "No, Weiss, just no." Yang told her.

"What, you do it!" Weiss complained.

I pointed to her. "Shut up," I told her. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Well, at least I'm trying to be funny!" She shot back at me.

"Not the stupid joke, Weiss. All of you." I told her. The four of them stared back at me, wide-eyed. "A Paladin! Really? Do you realize how stupid and dangerous that was? I'm not your mother, I shouldn't have to be lecturing you guys like this. Do you know what I had to do just to find you guys?" I yelled, the words spilling out of mouth in frustration and fear.

They all blinked at me.

"We're sorry." Ruby said, genuine guilt radiating from her. "It's just that Torchwick…" She started.

"We've had this conversation already! Roman is not your problem!" I shot back.

"Then whose problem is it?" Blake countered.

"Anybody else's, but yours." I told her. "You four aren't ready for this yet."

"It's not like Torchwick will wait around for us to graduate!" Blake's voice was strained, and it became clear how much Roman and the White Fang really bothered her. She _wanted_ to take them on. "You told us that you would deal with him, but nothing has happened yet!"

I forced myself to take a breath. "This takes time, guys. Even for someone like Ozpin, let alone myself. We can't just go running in blindly when the White Fang is involved with someone like Roman." I explained. "A fact that you guys seem to always forget."

"What do you mean, 'someone like Roman', anyway?" Weiss suddenly spoke up.

I blinked at her. "A crime boss," I said automatically, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, not that. Earlier, Torchwick mentioned something about you and him. Something that we don't know about." Weiss folded her arms across her chest.

Now all four of them were eyeing me.

"Yeah, and, why are you the only one who calls him by his first name?" Yang pointed out. "Everyone else calls him Torchwick or Roman Torchwick."

"And he called you 'Sweetheart'." Ruby said. Her eyes widened as she jumped to conclusions. "Wait… were you and him…"

My own eyes nearly popped out of my skull. "No! Holy shit, no!" I practically screamed. I raised my hand in a calming gesture. "I think we've gotten a little off topic."

"I think we deserve to know." Yang pressed.

My heart sank deep into my stomach. I couldn't tell them.

I knew I should have, but the words wouldn't come. After a few seconds past, I cleared my throat. "It's not a big deal. Eight years ago, I did some undercover work for Ozpin and the military. I infiltrated Roman's trusted circle, and the assignment took longer than expected. I think Roman must have gotten used to having me around, because he was furious when he found out who I was." I told them, my throat getting tighter and tighter with every lie I told.

The trick to a good lie, thankfully, was to sprinkle in some truth. I inhaled deeply. "I was the reason he went to jail last time. He felt like I had betrayed him, which I suppose I did." I said, letting the words weigh on them. "Which is exactly _why_ Roman would love to have a stab at you. He knows it would hurt me."

The four of them shifted uncomfortably, guilt returning to their faces.

"Well," Ruby said sheepishly. "That was really cool with that sonic boom thing you did. I didn't know someone could use so much aura."

"Yeah, how did you even do that?" Blake agreed.

I forced my body to relax, laughing a little. Off in the distance, sirens could be heard fast approaching. "Another night, girls. I think we should just get home." I told them gently, turning to leave. "You're all still grounded, by the way."

"What about Sun and Neptune?" Ruby pipped up, her upbeat attitude quickly returning.

"Their own mothers can ground them." I countered, smiling a little.


End file.
